Category Archives: food storage

Vodak + Vanilla Beans

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A couple of days ago I posted this picture with the caption:
“What is a good Mormon girl doing with a gallon and a half of Vodka!”

I got a lot of funny comments on my blog and facebook and some great ideas were thrown out. I would like to address some of those comments.

No, it isn’t for a secret night cap or to get me though the day

It isn’t for cleaning paint brushes, I didn’t even know you could do that!

No, it isn’t for our year supply.

No, it isn’t to keep on hand to barter when times get bad.

I am not making herbal tinctures (good idea though)

Several people guess vanilla extract, and they were correct.

I saw a tutorial for making homemade vanilla and me, being who I am, just had to try it.

To make vanilla extract you need a gallon of Vodka (the cheaper the better, that stuff can be expensive) and 3/4 pound of vanilla beans.

(I got my vanilla beans here)

Place the beans in a gallon sized glass jar


and pour the vodka over the top.

Let it sit for 5 to 6 months, and there you have it,
Vanilla Extract.
(sorry the pictures were so bad, it was dark outside and I just can’t get good pictures in my kitchen without natural light)

My friend Charlotte wanted to know if I felt weird purchasing the Vodka. I will be honest and admit that I sent my husband for the liquor. In Utah you can’t buy liquor at the grocery store, there are special State Liquor stores that you have to go to, and he said he felt like a fish out of water.

Also, I had to take a little sniff of the stuff, and all I can say is “why would someone want to drink it?!” It smelled so bad, like rubbing alchohol!


Now the real question: What are we going to do with the extra half gallon of Vodka!

Free Cotts….you pick

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One of the best things about July in Utah is that we have two holidays.
Of course there is the 4th of July
which is one of my favorites
I love the 4th
it is almost religious to me.
Then we have the 24th of July
that is the day the first Mormon pioneers rolled in the Great Salt Lake Valley.
They were searching for the freedom to worship how they wanted. I had ancestors on both sides of my family that made the trek west in covered wagons and even handcarts (some were a part of this disastrous company). Many people died to be here, and I feel a love and reverence for my forefathers.

So around here the 24th is a state holiday, celebrated much the same way as the 4th, with parades, BBQ’s and fireworks.

We went swimming with the whole family on the 24th and while we were there my sister told me that her husbands grandma had apricots that were free for the picking. After we were done swimming we stopped by to pick a box.

Katie picking the ones she could reach

Dadzoo climbing the tree for the sweet ones at the top

My littlest sister Lindi, isn’t she pretty
she looks like me
this is her grandma-in-law’s tree

Boxes of beautiful apricots!

That next Sunday my neighbor told me that I could have all the apricots I wanted off her tree. YAY!
I have two 5 gallon buckets full of apricots sitting in my kitchen.
I love free food
There will be posts to come as I process my gazillion apricots. We are going to do apricot butter, apricot jam and apricot syrup.
Stay Tuned!

Yogurt

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I was asked to do a tutorial on yogurt making

So here it is!

I use a yogurt maker, I figured it would be worth the small investment for the amount of yogurt we eat. I make at least one batch a day, many times I will make two. I am thinking of buying a larger maker, since my daughter has been off cow milk I have been using yogurt in all of my recipes calling for milk. She has no problem with yogurt, kefir or any cultured milk product, so this is what we have been using.

This is my yogurt maker, pretty simple, it keeps the temperature of the culturing milk low and consistent.


First measure out the amount of milk to fit whatever you are going to use to make your yogurt. If you are doing this without a “yogurt maker” make sure you culture your milk in a glass or plastic container. A quart canning jar works really well.

For more information on culturing yogurt with out a “yogurt maker” you can go here, here and here.

(sorry the pictures aren’t so good, I did this at night so my kitchen was dark and I just can’t get nice pictures without the natural light)

Pour the milk into a sauce pan and turn the stove on to medium heat. I use a candy thermometer, when I first started to make yogurt I just guessed at the temperatures, and I ruined a few batches before I broke down and just bought a thermometer.


Heat the milk to 180-200 degrees.

This is important, you are basically pasteurising the milk for a second time, since the conditions are ripe for culturing bacteria you only want to be culturing the yogurt bacteria…nothing else.

Keep a good eye on this, once milk starts to boil it boils over very quickly….I have done this many times…hehe….and you don’t want it to get too hot and burn. Burnt milk is really smelly and is almost impossible to get off a pan….yes, I have done that too….


See the small bubbles, the milk is at the right temperature, almost to a boil, but not quite there. I promise a thermometer makes the whole process a lot easier.

At this point take the pan off the hot burner and let it sit and cool to 120 degrees. If you don’t let the yogurt cool down enough you will kill the yogurt cultures. Usually I make yogurt when I am cleaning up dinner, so I just let it sit, it takes a while to cool down, if I am in a hurry I will set the pan in a sink full of cold water and then it only takes a few minutes.

When it has cooled to 120 degree pour a little off into a bowl and add your starter. You can buy dry yogurt starter at a health food store, or you can use plain cultured yogurt. For this batch I used a couple spoonfuls of my sweet yogurt cheese. Once you start making yogurt you can use leftovers from the previous batch…it is like a gift that keeps giving.

Whisk the yogurt starter in until well blended.

Then pour it into your pan of warm milk and give it a good stir

Then, once again, pour it back into the yogurt maker.

I you aren’t using a yogurt maker at this point you would pour the milk mixture into your jar and put the lid on. You can let it culture in an oven, turn the oven onto warm, when it is warmed up turn it off and set the jar inside, let it culture for several hours. Or you can wrap the warm jar in towels to keep it warm and let it culture. There is a heating pad method and a crock pot method, (I shared the links above.) There are many methods to culture yogurt.

Place it in the warmer

Put the lids on

And let it culture away.

It takes between 4 to 6 hours to get a good firm yogurt, I will start it and just let it go all night and in the morning this is what I am left with.


Now, homemade yogurt is runnier than yogurt bought at the store. Store bought yogurt sometimes has gelatin added or it had been strained to create a thicker, creamer yogurt. I use the runnier yogurt for recipes and smoothies, this is what we use yogurt for the very most. If I want it thicker I will strain it until I reach the desired thickness. Yogurt can be used as a substitute for sour cream and cream cheese, it is wonderful strained with a little honey whipped in or drizzled over the top.

I have make yogurt with whole mill, 2%, 1% skim and powdered milk, it is a great way to rotate your powdered milk.

Enjoy!

I would also like to note that yogurt doesn’t always turn out, even with a yogurt maker, don’t be discouraged if your first attempt doesn’t work. Making yogurt is like baking bread, it is an art and it takes some time to figure it out. The benefits of making your own yogurt are well worth the effort. You have control over the quality of milk used and the ingredients added, you also avoid the sugars and food dyes used in commercial yogurts.